CAIRO – A Cairo appeals court has overturned the conviction of a TV broadcaster closely linked to the security services for insulting a liberal politician.

Tuesday's verdict drops one of a number of similar cases against Ahmed Moussa, who regularly launches blistering attacks on Islamists and the activists behind the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak.

He was sentenced to two years and a fine for insulting politician Osama Ghazali Harb. A courtroom scuffle between Moussa supporters and lawyers broke out before Tuesday's ruling.

Moussa, also a longtime staffer at the state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram, is a staunch supporter of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and is known to have close connections to security agencies.

A court earlier this month sentenced Moussa to one year in prison for insulting an Islamist politician.